Module A Flashcards
1
Q
Reimagining between the Texts
A
- Shakespeare created a play script while Looking for Richard is about the actual performance and focuses on the role of actors
- Richard III is reimagined in LFR through the process of rehearsal, casting and discussions pre-performance
2
Q
Reframing between the Texts
A
- KR3 is a script
- LFR takes place in the minds of the cast and director that perform the script
- Different mediums (script and film)
3
Q
Resonances
A
- Manipulative nature of Richard
- Ability of Richard to ‘woo’ Anne
- Richard’s actions have clear consequences
4
Q
Dissonances
A
- Starkly different contexts, purposes, forms, audiences and characterisation of Richard
- Society’s values have changed
- Shift from theocentricism and providentialism to individual agency
- Shakespeare’s Richard faces divine sanction whilst Pacino’s Richard faces psychological deterioration
- Shakespeare’s portrayal of women is stronger than Pacino’s
5
Q
Effects of Different Media
A
- Shakespeare’s stage brought audience into the action
- Shakespeare’s soliloquies made a connection between Richard and the audience
- Pacino’s viewers are excluded from the action so film techniques are used to create a sense of reality such as hand-held cameras, vox pops, unprepared dialogue and close-ups
6
Q
Context - Shakespeare
A
- Tudors were in power after War of the Roses
- Political stability following unrest and threats to throne
- Elizabethan era
- Rising conflict between providentialism and secularism/free will
- Christian values regarding Divine Right of Kings, Levitical doctrine, Great Chain of Being, moral absolutism and superstition (curses and ghosts)
- Machiavellian politics that effective ruler should abandon virtue and morality, pursue power at any cost, be charismatic and eloquently command language
- Marriage was the only way women could gain status
- Popularity of morality plays showing struggle to hold onto Christianity when faced with Vice character that represented the devil and tempted people to sin
- Role of theatre to affirm Tudor’s legitimacy
7
Q
Context - Pacino
A
- Postmodernist 20th century
- American democracy
- Loss of trust and faith in politicians
- Diminished role of religion and secular worldview
- Emphasis on free will and moral ambiguity
- “It’s only an opinion … It’s never right or wrong”
- Interest in psychoanalysis
- Belief that deceit and wickedness lead to psychological corruption and inner fragmentation
- Rise in feminist attitudes so women no longer needed marriage to gain status
- Film was widely watched for entertainment so people became interested in the concept of sheer evil
8
Q
Purpose - Shakespeare
A
- Moral didacticism
- Entertain through enigmatic villain
- Showcase tensions between providentialism and free will
- Assert Christian values
- Provoke contemplation of human nature and evil
- Propaganda of Tudor’s legitimacy of accession to throne
9
Q
Purpose - Pacino
A
- Make Shakespeare accessible for the modern audience as they are sceptical about his relevance and confused by complexity of language
- Honour and prolong cultural and artistic legacy of Shakespeare
- Convey universal themes of power, corruption and social structures
- “Our main goal … is to reach an audience who would normally not participate in this kind of language and world”
- “Communicate a Shakespeare that is about how we feel and how we think today”
- Explore role and importance of actor in interpretation and understanding of Shakespeare
- Entertainment value
10
Q
Form - Shakespeare
A
- Historical tragedy
- Morality play
- Melodrama
- Metatheatrical historiography
- Linear structure
11
Q
Form - Pacino
A
- Stream-of-consciousness metadocudrama in which Pacino’s role as director and actor merge as he is auteur
- Interspersion of cuts from interviews with actors, scholars, discussions, vox pops, rehearsals and performance
- Begins with “King Richard” and adds “loo” and “for” to make “Looking for Richard”
12
Q
Audience - Shakespeare
A
- Elizabethan
- Christian
- Aware of historical context
- Previously see Richard as villain
13
Q
Audience - Pacino
A
- Modern Americans
- Secular
- Generally unaware of historical context
- Not connected to Shakespeare’s language
- Commonly believe Shakespeare to be irrelevant in contemporary era
14
Q
Characterisation of Richard - Shakespeare
A
- Vice character
- Machiavellian
- Rejects traditional Christian virtues and morality
- Usurps Divine Right of Kings
- Despot
- Unsympathetic depiction as evil, immoral, duplicitous, manipulative
- Physically and spiritually deformed (Levitical Doctrine)
- “foul defacer of God’s handiwork”
- “bloody dog”
- “murderous villain”
- “poisonous bunch-backed toad”
- “bloody, usurping boar”
15
Q
Characterisation of Richard - Pacino
A
- Sympathetic and ambiguous depiction
- Psychological study as tormented, misunderstood and possibly mad
- Multi-faceted character
- Tragic hero
